Agents of SHIELD : Loyalty
by chrisg1998
Summary: Grant Ward knew what he was:A soldier who followed orders, without question, without hesitation. So when his mentor and SO John Garret asked him to undertake a mission to infiltrate the team of SHIELD Agent Philip Coulson, Ward didn't hesitate. He thought he could get the job done. And he did. But at what cost? Love, Family, Loyalty; All will be tested. Regular Cannon, AU Elements.
1. Chapter 1 and 2

_**Chapter One: How hard can it be?**_

"Grant... are you sure you wanna do this? Its not too late to back out."

"Will you relax John? I said i'd do it, and i'll do it." Grant Ward replied with a slightly annoyed tone in his voice as he cleaned out his pistol. While he was cleaning out the gun, sitting on his bunk bed in his small S.H.I.E.L.D apartment, his SO John Garret sat on a nearby chair close to the door, a bottle of Jim Beam in his hand.

Garret put his free hand out in a gesture of surrender, and replied "Kid, i know you said you'd do it... but... after what happened in Moscow-" Garret didn't finish his sentence as a look of anger and resentment crossed Ward's face. A look which clearly said _We are not talking about this. _Sighing, Garret instead said " Look son, i aint doubting your skills, or your resolve. I know if i put you on this operation you'll get it done, and get it done right. Its just... I know how much this type of work can put a toll on you, especially when your in as deep as you'll have to be."

Sighing, Ward said "John, I've been doing this a long time. This wont be a problem for me. It never has been."

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Garret was about to open his mouth when Ward put his hand up and said "The Moscow operation was one mistake. I wont make it again."

For a moment, Garret merely starred at Ward, before saying "Alright kid, i trust you. All im saying is if you give me some more time, i might be able to turn Trip to the cause and he can handle this himself. I'd hate to lose you, your my best guy "

Hiding the look of satisfaction which crossed his face at Garret's words, Ward merely rolled his eyes, and replied "Really John? You really think the grand kid of a Howling Commando will turn on S.H.I.E.L.D for HYDRA?"

Smirking, Garret replied "Hey im a charming guy. I was able to convince you, didn't i?"

Grant's face hardened slightly, and he said "Thats different, and you know it. I was broken, and you helped get me back together. I owe you for that. Trip aint broken. He wont turn on them."

Garret merely said "We'll see kid. Every man has a breaking point, a limit to their loyalty. I'm the living embodiment of that." Looking down to his watch, he said " You better get going Grant, your meeting with Hill is in 15 minutes. We wouldn't want you to be late now would we?" he finished with a smile.

Grant smirked in response.

After exiting the room with Garret in tow, they moved through the Triskelion to the interview room where Ward would be meeting with Deputy Commander Maria Hill. 10 minutes later they arrived outside the door to the interview room. Ward turned to Garret.

"You sure Coulson will try and recruit me for this little team of his?"

"I know the guy. We were both on Fury's team, remember? I know how the man thinks, how he works." Smirking, he said "Phil likes to fix things, people. He likes to save people from themselves. I think he was going to try and get you anyway, knowing your record. All i did was give the man a little push in the right direction."

Keeping his face clear at the words 'your record', Ward merely replied "Hmm... A guy who likes to save people. Remind you of anyone?"

Garret smiled and gave Ward a light punch to the shoulder, before replying in a serious tone "Kid, i might have taken you out of jail, but YOUR the one who saved yourself. Everything you've done, everything you've achieved. Thats all you." He then gave Ward a small pat on the shoulder, and another smile.

Ward disagreed. Ward knew in his heart who was responsible for what he was, the man he was. Garret had saved him from a fate, in Ward's mind, worse then death. He had helped him become something more, something better. And for that, Ward would do anything for him. His loyalty was to Garret, and Garret alone. Nothing would change that.

Taking his hand off Ward's shoulder, he said "You better get in their kid. Hill aint especially renowned for her patience." Chuckling, he then said "Son, seriously... You sure you wanna do this? "

Ward gave his SO another annoyed look, and said "For the last time, yes i wanna do this. Besides..." Turning away from Garret he moved to the door which would lead to the interview room. " How hard can it be?" With that, Grant opened the door.

_**Chapter 2: **_**_Introductions_**

"What does S.H.I.E.L.D stand for Agent Ward?"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Ward replied, in a cold and emotionless tone, "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division".

"And what does that mean to you?"

"It means someone really wanted our initials to spell S.H.I.E.L.D" He replied with just a little bit of snark in his voice. He knew she would get annoyed, but he didn't care. He'd been through stuff like this before, this type of routine, with S.H.I.E.L.D, and to be perfectly honest he was starting to get slightly pissed off that he was still having to deal with it. He was a level 6 for god's sake. True, he was an agent of HYDRA, but still.

Seeing that Hill wasn't going to say anything else, and slightly scared of the look she was now giving him [he would never admit it to anyone, but Hill honestly made him uneasy. She seemed perceptive. Too perceptive. For a man like Ward, that was something to be weary of. Some people would call it fear, but that wasn't it. That _definitely_ wasn't it. Ward didn't feel fear. Or at least that's what he told himself.] he said "It means we're the line between the world and the much weirder world. We protect people from news they aren't ready to hear. When we can't do that, we keep them safe." Pulling out a small object from his coat pocket and sliding it to Hill, who was sitting on the opposite end of the table that they were doing their debrief on, he added "Something turns up like this Chitauri neural link, we get to it before someone bad does."

Nodding slightly, Hill picked up the aforementioned neural link and said "Any idea who Vanchat was planning to sell it to?"

"I'm more interested in how this Rising Tide group found out about it. I thought they were just hackers. What changed?" Ward replied, a shred of annoyance entering his usually composed voice. Ward had dealt with the Rising Tide before. The Paris Operation had been one of a few that had almost been compromised by the so called "hacktivists".

Standing up, Hill leaned on the nearby wall and said "Everything's changing. A little while ago, most people went to bed thinking that the craziest thing in the world was a billionaire in a flying metal suit. Then aliens invaded New York and were beaten back by, among others, a giant green monster, a costumed hero from the '40's, and a god."

"I don't think Thor's technically a God." Ward pointed out.

With a small, wistful almost smile, Hill said. "Well, you haven't been near his arms." Straightening up, she then said "The battle of New York was the end of the world. This now is the new world. People are different. They have access to tech, to formulas, secrets they're not ready for."

Resisting the urge to smile at Hill's comments about the Thunder Gods arms, he merely said "Why was I pulled out of Paris?"

Smirking slightly she simply said "That, you'll have to ask Agent Coulson."

Ward already knew this of course, but being only a Level 6 operative meant he couldn't, so he gave Hill a look of disbelieve, mingled with some annoyance, and replied " Yeah. I'm clearance level six. I know that Agent Coulson was killed in action, before the battle of New York. Got the full report."

As he spoke, a man in a dark corner of the small interview room got up from his chair [Ward had noticed him there, but had decided not to bring it up.] and walked into the light. The man was of medium height, medium build, with short brown hair, slightly thinning, with a handsome, rounded, friendly face. Though Ward had never met the man personally, he recognized him from photo's John had shown his from his old days as a member of Nick Fury's S.H.I.E.L.D Team. Standing in front of him was none other then Phil Coulson.

Ward had to admit, after finally seeing the man in the flesh, he was decidedly... unimpressed. After hearing all the stories about Coulson, he was expecting a person a lot like Captain America: Big, strong, and very Intimidating, but Coulson looked more like a well groomed accountant then anything.

Knowing he had to be shocked, he gave Hill a look of bemusement, then gave Coulson the same look, then looked between them a few times. He knew he was overacting it a bit, but quite honestly, he was still tired from the Paris mission, so he didn't really care.

Coulson finally spoke. "Welcome to level seven." Then he smiled, and said "Sorry that corner was really dark, and I couldn't help myself. I think there's a bulb out." With that, Coulson walked out of the interview room, Hill following closely behind. Ward waited a few seconds before following them out.

As he followed Hill and Coulson down through the Triskelion for a couple minutes in silence, not knowing were they would be going, he finally said, in a slow voice "Your... Your meant to be..."

"Dead?" Coulson guessed. Ward nodded.

When neither of the senior agents spoke again, Ward said "So Director Fury faked your death. To motivate the Avengers." _Smart move_ Ward thought.

"Well, the death of a common ally is a particularly effective team builder." Hill replied. As she talked, she placed her hand on a special Security Panel. A female voice said "Cheese", and the door to one of the sealed off S.H.I.E.L.D Comms areas opened up. She and Coulson entered, followed by Ward.

"Plus, it wasn't that much of a stretch. I stopped breathing for about 40 seconds." Coulson said as they moved through the Comms room.

Hill rolled her eyes slightly, and said "Eight. It gets longer every time you say it.

"Yeah, well, you get shanked by the Asgardian Mussolini, you can tell it your way." Coulson retorted. " I was looking at the big white light, and it felt like a lot longer than eight seconds."

Hill rolled her eyes again, while Ward asked "Do they know? The Avengers, that Fury played them?"

Hill turned to him, a slightly smug expression on her face, and said "They're not level 7."

As they continued to walk through the Comms Area, Coulson started to talk about his recuperation period following his 'death'. "I got out of the I.C.U. ,Fury stuck me in a grass shack in Tahiti" Coulson said with a small smirk.

"Rough gig. Mai tais, Travis McGee novels, and a physical therapist whose command of english was Irrelevant." Ward couldn't help a small smile escape his lips as he imagined Coulson, on a beach in Tahiti, sipping Mai tais. _That would be a sight indeed_ he thought.

Ward then said, as they entered a smaller room adjacent to the Comms Area, "But something put you back in the game?" Before Coulson could reply, Ward noticed something on one of the wireless Widescreen displays. "What is that?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

"A superhero, Agent Ward" Coulson replied.

"An unregistered gifted, identity unknown." Hill added.

"How we getting this? Does S.H.I.E.L.D have someone on the ground?"

Coulson shook his head. "Nope. Another little present from The Rising Tide."

Ward gave an annoyed sigh, and said "How are they getting this stuff before us?" He was really starting to hate the Rising Tide.

Coulson gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "Same way they cracked our RSA implementation. They're good. So I need better."

Hill took a folder from a nearby agent, and said "Agent Coulson has requisitioned a mobile command unit, to which you are assigned."

Ward gave her a surprised look, while once again marveling at how Garret had predicted exactly how Coulson would act. The man seemed to know everything.

Turning to Ward, Coulson continued "Rising Tide is trying to draw us out. I think it's time they succeeded."

With an impassive look, Ward replied "You want me to cross them off." He knew that's not what he wanted, but the Grant Ward S.H.I.E.L.D knew was exactly the type of person who would think that's what someone would want done. Taken care of. Crossed off. He was specialist. This is what he did.

Coulson gave him a slightly shocked look, and replied "Wow. No." While Hill rolled her eyes again, not surprised by what Ward had said. Moving on, Coulson said "I want to use them to get to him. This man's world is about to get very weird. He's gonna need some help."

Seeing the very pointed looks both Coulson and Hill were giving him, he shook his head slightly, and said "I'm sorry. I was trained from day one as a specialist. I go in alone. I get it done. Defusing a nuclear bomb, I'm your guy. A welcoming committee? not my speed." That part at least was true. Ward was never the warm and fluffy kind. He could be charming and sociable when he needed to, if the job asked for it, but it didn't come to him naturally. He was a solitary person at heart, preferring the company of a good book to a party. That part of his personality he didn't have to act out.

Coulson nodded. " I know it's not what you want." He took the folder from Hill, and continued. "Agent Hill did a very detailed assessment of your last three missions. Combat: top grades. Espionage : She gave you the highest marks since Romanoff."he said, impressed. Ward turned and gave a slight nod in acknowledgement to Hill, which she returned.

"Under "people skills," she drew I think it's a little poop with knives sticking out of it." Ward turned to the file. "What?" he said, slightly offended. It did look a little like a poop with knifes in it. He turned to Hill, who seemed to be trying to avoid his eye. _Seriously? _Ward knew he wasn't the easiest guy to deal with, but ... a poop with knifes in it? Really?

"Thats bad right?" Coulson added, trying to keep a straight face."And given your family history, i'm surprised it's not worse."

Ward tried to hide the small scowl that suddenly appeared on his face. The mention of his family always put him on edge. No matter how well he could act as the loyal S.H.I.E.L.D Agent, the mention of his family could always bring an involuntary reaction out of him.

The door opened again, and another S.H.I.E.L.D employee, an elderly black man with small, wispy gray hair and beard entered. His badge named him as Dr Streiten. "We have a meeting."

Coulson gave the doctor a small nod, before turning back to Ward. "If I'm wrong, you go straight back to your bombs."

Dr Streiten cleared his throat, and said "Team's approved. Physicals are all fine. Fitz-Simmons is not cleared for combat, I'm told that won't be an issue." _Great_ Ward thought resentfully. _I'm gonna be stuck with some rookie who doesn't know how to fire a gun. This just keeps getting better and better. _

Dr Streiten turned to Ward, and said, with a slight tone of approval "Agent Ward here is almost too healthy."

"Thats an issue." Ward said immediately. Although he had no intention of leaving Coulson's team [although he was starting to regret not making sure that Garret had recommended Coulson have at least some more combat trained specialists on-team] he knew he had to act like he wanted too. It was funny how often someone was invited to a party when they weren't looking for an invite."That should be an issue. Maybe I can't join the team-"

"Your dismissed." Hill said, in a tone which invited no argument. Sighing as if he was angry that he was stuck on Coulson's team [which, now that he thought about, he sort of was] Ward left the room.

5 minutes later, Ward was sitting outside the main Triskelion building, sitting on one of the metal chairs facing the Potomac, eating his lunch [a tuna sandwich with mayo]. He had been thinking about his mission, the one for Garret, and was starting to wonder whether or not he'd bitten off more then he could chew.

The mission had sounded simple enough to begin with: Infiltrate the team, find out how Coulson survived, or, more accurately, revived, from his wound at the battle of New York. Garret needed to know why. And Ward would find out. That was the job Ward did. He was good at it. Maybe even the best [after Romanov] But now that he had finally started his assignment... He wasn't sure if it was so simple anymore. He had finally met Coulson, who was the opposite of what he had expecting: From what Garret, Romanov, from what every S.H.I.E.L.D Agent had told him, Ward had expected a man a lot like himself; Remote, emotionless, committed to the job at hand. Focused. He was committed to the job, yes. No-one took an early rain check from a holiday in Tahiti if they weren't committed. Focused? Yeah, he was that too. But remote? Emotionless? He had been in the room a mere 5 minutes and could tell this guy was about as cold as a Texas summer. And that frightened Ward. Coulson had become a variable. An unforeseen one at that. Ward didn't like variables. He was trained to eliminate them. And more then that, Ward would be going into the field with an untrained, non-combat ready rookie. That was another variable that Ward didn't like. And it was a variable which could put him at an unnecessary risk out in the field.

As Ward silently contemplated his situation as he ate through his sandwich, the Potomac shining bright by the sun, he heard a set of footsteps moving towards him from a couple meters away. Ignoring them, he continued to eat the sandwich while staring over the river, until a familiar voice said "Mind if i sit with you?"

Turning around, Ward gave a look of genuine surprise. Smiling, he said "Don't mind at all."

The young redhead smiled and took the chair opposite him.

Natasha Romanov, known as Nat to her friends [whom Ward was counted among], better known as the Black Widow, was perhaps the single greatest spy in S.H.I.E.L.D's history, perhaps even the world. Though little was known about her life outside of work, Ward knew, from what she had told him, that she was originally from Russia. After serving as the premier spy and assassin for the FSB [Russian Intelligence Agency, the successor to the KGB] for years, during which her reputation [and success] had led to S.H.I.E.L.D placing a kill order on her, the man sent to take her out, Clint Barton [another friend of Ward's] known as "The Hawk", had instead recruited her into the agency. She was now, along with Cap and Barton one of S.H.I.E.L.D's greatest assets.

Their was reason Ward had become so good at being a spy. Garret had taught him how to fight, how to shot, and had taught him enough to lie his way into S.H.I.E.L.D, but it was Nat who really taught him the finer points of the arts of spying, lying, and seduction. He was one of the few agents [if not the only] whom she had personally trained. Their was a reason he had gotten the best espionage marks since Romanov. Romanov was the one who trained him in the first place.

That wasn't the reason Ward liked her and considered her a friend though [other then Trip, Barton and Garret, Ward wasn't very friendly with many people. Cordial, sure. But not friendly]. The reason he took to her so well, and her to him, was because they had both faced darkness, despair, hatred, violence. Things that most people were lucky enough to avoid in the early part of their lives. They had faced it, survived it, and had become better as a result of it. They had defeated the darkness, him admittedly with a little help. But it wasn't just that that made them friends; She was a good teacher. Strict, but fair. She was kind, loyal, funny and fearless. She wasn't afraid to get in someones face if they weren't working up to scratch. She was friendly with people, something Ward struggled with; She was in many ways, the big sister he never had.

Looking at her, he could tell she had just come off mission; Her hair was in a mess, her bottom lip was cut, and though her couldn't see it, he was willing to wager his [albeit meager] savings that she had a bruise or two under the black Kevlar suit she wore. An ordinary day for the Black Widow.

Smirking, Ward said "So, how was North Korea?"

Chuckling [though she tried to hide it, Ward noticed the slight wince she did when she laughed. She had probably suffered some lung damage, possibly a puncture. He suppressed a sigh. _She never gets it checked out until someone makes her_ he thought gruffly.] she replied "Oh, it was super. Just a couple of bruises, a cut lip. Nothing major. Pretty quiet actually."

"And a possibly punctured lung?" Ward pointed out, slightly annoyed.

Smirking, Romanov replied "Nothing gets past you." Seeing his expression hadn't changed, she chuckled again, wincing more openly now, and said "Come on Ward, I've been through worse. Hell we both have."

Though not completely satisfied, Ward nodded none the less, knowing an argument with Romanov would get him nothing.

Still smiling, Romanov said "So, what put you in such a happy mood?"

"What are you talking about?"

Sighing, Romanov gave him a _are-you-really-trying-to-do-this _look_,_ and said "Ward, remember who trained you. I can tell when your pissed."

Rolling his eyes, Ward replied "I'm not pissed, it's just... I've been put on an assignment, and its not exactly what I've been trained for, you know? Its...complicated."

Giving him a curious look, [though Ward never knew what went through Romanov's head. She could know exactly what had him down, and he wouldn't be able to tell.] Romanov said "How complicated?"

_You have no idea._ "Really Complicated."

Turning around in her seat so she could be more comfortable, Romanov said " I'll give you a little bit of free advice ребено[Kid]. Expect to do the unexpected. The world has gone crazy since New York. We're dealing with monsters, aliens, gods, superhero's. Things we were never trained for. You just have to go with the flow."

Ward gave her a look of mock amazement, and said "Wow, the worlds changed. You know i didn't notice that at all, thanks for the heads up."

Romanov gave him a look of mock hurt in return, and replied "Ну кто-то не получил положил вчера вечером." [Well someone didn't get laid last night.]

"Я почти был ввернут на себя прилива. Это считается?" [I almost got screwed over by the Rising Tide. That count?] he retorted.

Before they could continue, a voice yelled "Agent Romanov!" and they turned their heads to see another agent, also in tactical gear, walking towards them. Ward recognized him as Brock Rumlow, a member of S.H.I.E.L.D's special combat unit, STRIKE. Ward had never really liked Rumlow. After he had made a crack about Ward's 'family history', Ward had retaliated by putting him in the med bay for a week.

Ignoring Ward, Rumlow said "The Director wants to debrief you on the NK Op. He wants to talk to you. Now." With that, Rumlow turned around and walked back to the Main Building.

Sighing, Romanov got up from the chair, wincing slightly as she did, gave Ward a mock salute, and said "See you later kid." before turning around and walking back into the Triskelion.

Still smiling, Ward turned around and started to stare at the Potomac again. Though he had joked around, her advice actually didn't sound too bad. _Go with the flow_. Maybe she was right; expect the unexpected. Maybe this whole Coulson thing would turn out fine in the end.

_Or maybe it'l blow up in my face_ he thought to himself. He pushed those thoughts aside. He couldn't afford to lose his nerve. Not now. This was important. He knew that much. Garret needed this. If he didn't succeed he could... Ward didn't let himself finish that thought.

He just went back to eating his lunch and watching the river glow.


	2. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3: Meeting the Team**_

After getting his orders from Coulson to go to a small, S.H.I.E.L.D Airfield just outside Washington, Ward had packed up the bare essentials: Toiletries, some clothes, a few books. Ward had done enough ops to know you should only pack a few things, just in case you had to move quickly. Anything else he would need he would just pick up during down time from missions.

Upon reaching the hangar where the Transport plane which would be taking them on missions was stored up in, carrying his bag over his shoulder, Ward came across two people, one a pretty, brown haired woman, short, slightly plumb but still slim, with a friendly face and warm eyes, the other a guy, with brown, curly hair, a cute if slightly sad face as if he was downtrodden, and a slightly mad glint in his eye, like any minute he was going to make something explode. Both of them were in the back of the plane, its hangar door open, and the back looked to Ward like a combination parking area, and science lab, with stairs leading up to the second level of the plane. Neither of them looked to be any older then early to mid-twenties. From the look of them [civilian attire, very lean but not muscular], and the equipment they were setting up in the aforementioned lab, Ward guessed they were science division kids. They were probably members of Ward's new team.

He suppressed a groan. If there was one thing worse than going into the field with an untrained, non-combat ready rookie, it was going into the field with _two_ untrained, non-combat ready rookies who were science geeks. _This really couldn't get any worse_ Ward thought to himself.

They were both moving large bags full of god knows what into the lab, one of which had something which looked like to Ward to be some type of high tech alien hunting rifle. When the girl made to move it from the bag, the guy yelped and immediately moved towards her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Watch it! That's the night-night gun." His accent was Scottish, with a hint of some American influence.

"Well, it's on my stuff, and it doesn't work, And there's no way we're calling it the night-night gun." She too was British, but her accent was English rather than Scottish.

"The bullets work. Nonlethal, heavy stopping power, break up under the subcutaneous tissue-"

"With a dose of only 1 micro liters of Dendrotoxin. I'm not Hermione. I can't create instant paralysis with that."

"You should have run the specs-

"The bullets are hollow!" –

-by me before building the molds."

"It's a marvel I can keep them from breaking apart in the chamber."

"You could have used a higher-caliber round."

"Or you could have read a book. Have you ever heard of physics or what's the other one? Inertia? It's not particularly difficult."

Ward, who was getting bored with the back and forth arguing between the two [if also slightly amused] cleared his throat to get their attention. When that didn't seem to work, he dropped his bag to the floor with a fairly audible thump. Both Science kids looked up in surprise.

"Fitz-Simmons?" Ward asked, in a gruff, if friendly tone.

The girl was the first to recover. The look of surprise was replaced by a friendly, warm smile. "Fitz." She said, pointing at her colleague.

The Scots expression was friendly like hers, but also slightly apprehensive, probably for good reason: Ward had a good foot of so on him, and was much more muscular. "Simmons." He said as he pointed at the girl. "I'm engineering. She's bio-chem." Ward didn't miss the slightly mocking and dismissive tone in his voice as he said bio-chem; neither did the girl, who gave him an annoyed look, and moved off into the lab. "Agent Ward?" he asked.

Nodding, Ward said "Coulson said I'd need my comm receiver encoded." Passing the receiver to the Scot, he added " Don't know if you've worked with that model before. It's-'' before he could finish his sentence, the Scot [Was he Fitz or Simmons? I can't remember Ward thought] picked up a nearby hammer and smashed the receiver into several small pieces.

Ward gaped at the engineer, who had just destroyed thousands of dollars' worth of S.H.I.E.L.D Equipment, like he was smashing a wall nut. All he could say in response was " Brand-new."

The English girl gave Ward an apologetic look, along with a reproachful look towards her colleague. "Im sorry, he forgot to say that he'll re purpose the I.D.I.S. Chip." Seeing the slightly confused look on Ward's face, she elaborated "It means you don't need the external receiver for the inner-ear comms anymore."

Ward nodded, decided that the English girl [Simmons?} was probally the sane one of the two, and said "So, how does it-" he grunted as Simmons shoved a swab into his mouth without warning.

"Embedded sensor neural silicone matched to your DNA. It's very posh. " She answered, before pulling the swab out, and smiling to him like what she had just done was perfectly normal. _Maybe they're both crazy_ Ward thought, already starting to regret his decision to come on board.

"So, are you excited to be coming on our journey into mystery?" she asked him, still smiling that warm, friendly smile. _Wouldn't that hurt her mouth?_ Ward thought. He usually didn't smile. Smirked yes. Growl and Grinch, sure. But a smile? Not so much.

"It's like Christmas." He deadpanned.

Before they could say anything else, Ward, the science kids, along with a couple of technicians doing some minute checks, all turned their heads as a bright red vintage Corvette rolled into the plane's loading area, Philip Coulson at the wheel.

Fitz smirked slightly, moving to Ward's side as Simmons moved off to the lab. "One of Coulson's old S.H.I.E.L.D. Collectibles." Ward nodded. Coulson's obsession [_ahem fascination_] with old S.H.I.E.L.D and superhero memorabilia was legendary. One rumor was that, after his 'death' at the hands of Loki, Fury had stolen his Captain America trading cards from his locker, sprayed synthetics on them to make them look bloody, and used them to motivate the Avengers. Ward didn't know if it was true. Knowing Fury [or more specifically his rep] Ward wouldn't be surprised.

Fitz continued "Flamethrowers, world's first GPS. He's mad for this crap." As he talked, one of the Technicians made to touch the Corvette. Before he could, Coulson said "Don't touch Lola." In a firm voice.

Fitz's smile turned into a full blown grin. "And he calls it a girl's name." With that, he turned around, and moved off to the lab, after giving Ward a slap in the back. It didn't hurt at all, but Ward flinched slightly anyway; He wasn't very comfortable being touched by people he barely knew.

Coulson gave Ward a nod and a small grin, and gestured to Ward to follow him. As they climbed the stairs which led to the second level of the plane, at Ward's slightly raised eyebrows, Coulson said "Lola's not just a collectible, you know. People tend to confuse the words "new" and "improved."

When they finally reached the second level of the plane and started moving around the plane, Ward couldn't help but be impressed by just how well furbished the plane really was. There were leather couches, a Kashmir carpet, a kitchen with a fridge, stove and oven, a widescreen TV with the latest stereo and DVD System, and, Ward was happy to note, what looked like a fully stocked bar. Being used to staying in, if he was lucky, a dingy apartment on the bad end of whatever town he was stationed in, and if he wasn't lucky, staying in a small tent in the middle of a forest with rain pouring down on him, Ward couldn't help but feel just a little bit better about his situation now that he had seen what he was going to be in for. _Maybe this won't be so bad after all_ he thought.

Seeing the impressed look on Wards face, Coulson said" These mobile commands, they were in heavy rotation back in the '90s". Then with a grin he said "But then we got a heli-carrier."

As they continued to go through the plane to what Ward assumed were the rooms where the team members would be staying, Coulson turned around and said "Hey. Did you hear the one about the guy who's afraid of flying?"

Ward, who didn't entirely understand what Coulson was asking, assumed he was asking him whatever or not he was comfortable with heights, and said "I've done a night jump into a drop zone under heavy fire, sir. I can handle it."

Coulson gave him a bemused expression in return. "That was a Joke. The first part of a…." Seeing that Ward still didn't get it, Coulson sighed and said "I'm not gonna tell it now."

Before they could continue talking, the door of the cockpit opened, and a lady, who looked Asian, with long brown hair and dressed in black tactical gear, emerged. She had piercing eyes, and was of medium height, but Ward noted her build was firm and muscular, like his. She was very beautiful, however her beauty was offset slightly by the fact she wasn't smiling, and her eyes seemed cold, and calculating. She gave Ward a brief, appraising look before saying "If you plan to unpack, make it quick. Wheels are up in five." He accent was perfect. Without another word, she turned to Coulson and said "We may have a hit on one of the Rising Tide's routing points."

Coulson nodded. "Good. We need to do some catching up." The lady [whom Ward guessed was the pilot] gave him a curt nod, gave Ward another look, almost as if she was sizing him up, before turning around to return to the cockpit.

Though Ward had not recognized her immediately, now that she was gone, Ward had a pretty good guess who she could be. At S.H.I.E.L.D there had been a legend about a Specialist, who had saved over a dozen Agents from over 20 armed, professional Assassins, with one pistol, and only one mag. This specialist had earned the moniker "The Cavalry".

Turning to Coulson, he said "Is that who I think it is?"

Inclining his head slightly [which Ward guessed meant 'yes'] Coulson said "She's just the pilot."

"Just the pilot." Ward repeated skeptically. "Melinda May is just the pilot. Come on, sir. What game are you really playing?"

Coulson gave him a neutral expression, and said "Better stow your gear." Before turning around and walking back down the stairs to the bottom half of the plane.

Ward let out a sigh. This is not good. May could be a problem, not least of all because she had taken down over 20 armed men by herself; There were other legends about her, one of them being that she held more black belts then the Black Widow herself. Nat had even mentioned her to him once, during combat training; She had called May 'deadly'. That one compliment was enough to make Ward very weary; any person called deadly by one of the world's greatest assassins was not to be underestimated.

As he stood, contemplating his situation, one of the science kids, the girl called Simmons, climbed the stairs from the lower level. Seeing Ward, she gave him another friendly smile, and said. "Hey. You want me to show you to your room?"

"No thanks, im fine" Ward responded, in a voice slightly gruffer then he intended.

Simmons, unperturbed, said "It's really quite all right. Me and Leo-"as she spoke she grabbed Fitz [who had climbed up with her but had tried going back down when she mentioned helping Ward to his room] by the scruff of his neck and dragged him up to her side. Despite her petite stature, she was surprisingly strong. She continued "would be happy to show you the way."

Fitz gave him a look which clearly showed how much he _didn't_ want to show him the way, and he looked down the stairs, wistfully, towards the science lab. However, he didn't move away from Simmons side. He seemed resigned to his fate.

Ward sighed, and, deciding that it would be easy just to let this girl show him his room, even if she was a little earnest, he said "Okay, fine. Lead the way."

Simmons smile grew, if possible, even wider. "Lovely. Come on Fitz." With that she crossed the room [tripping slightly on the carpet, making both Ward and Fitz smile, just a little bit] and moved in front of Ward, all the while still smiling. "Well, off we go then."

Fitz, who was now standing right next to Ward as they followed Simmons, who was animatedly talking about some of the features of the plane, gave Ward a small, nervous smile, and said in a quiet voice so Simmons couldn't hear "You'll have to forgive Jemma. As you probably guessed, me and her don't spend a lot of time out of the lab, or with, you know… other people" he finished awkwardly.

Ward nodded. He didn't judge these guys for being a little awkward around new people, something Fitz seemed to be a little worried about. Ward was hardly a social animal himself. He could act confident and sociable if it was part of the job, but he was at heart a solitary person, and though he was cordial towards people in general, he was only friendly with people he trusted. He wasn't 100% comfortable in other peoples presence, and for good reason too. Their weren't a lot of reasons to trust people…..

_**A dark well… a little boy screaming for help….**_

_Don't think about it_ _Ward_ he chided himself. _Block it out_.

He turned his attention back to Simmons, who turned around and gave him another smile. _She does that to me a lot_ he thought to himself.

"So Agent Ward. Is this your first operation in the field?"

Ward shook his head. "Far from it. I've been in the field for going on 8 years now."

Both Fitz and Simmons gave him slightly awed looks [Ward suppressed a grin at their reaction.] "Wow." Simmons said. "I mean you look so young, and…. Well built… and symmetrical and…um…" she looked at Fitz, in slight alarm, who gave Ward a knowing look. He seemed to be saying that Jemma did this frequently. Ward for the first time gave out a little smile. Just a small smile, of course, but a smile none the less.

Jemma, seeing Ward grin for the first time, merely coughed, and recovered her bearings enough to say "Well, what i meant to say you seemed to be really really young to be a field agent. I thought you were just out of the Operations Academy."

Ward continued to give them his little smile as he said "I got out of the academy when i was 23. One of the youngest recruits ever to go straight into solo field ops" he finished with pride. He remembered the day he had gotten his first assignment, right after graduation. Garret himself had given him the orders. He had smiled at him, and said "I'm proud of you son." It had been the first time he had ever called him son.

It was one of the happiest days of Wards life.

The looks of awe on the science kids face's became even more pronounced. "That's…."

"Cool." Fitz finished.

Ward gave them a small chuckle. _These guys aren't so bad_ he thought. _A little eccentric, sure. A little crazy. But aren't we all?_

When they reached Ward's room, Simmons gave him another little smile, and said "Well me and Leo will just be a couple of doors down if you need us for anything."

Ward nodded. "So how long have you two been together? Wouldn't have been easy, S.H.I.E.L.D regulations and all." It was pretty obvious that these two were together. The fact that they argued like an old married couple, and the way they seem to hover around each other slightly, and the way they seemed to know the others body language so well gave it away pretty easily for a man like Ward, trained to observe people and how they interacted with others.

Both of them gave him a confused look for a moment, before their looks turned to shock.

"Oh wait, you think me and Jemma-"

"You think me and him-"

They both started to laugh nervously, shaking their heads frantically. It was actually quite comical, and Ward had to resist the urge to chuckle again.

Simmons finally said "Me and Fitz. No, no. no, no. Definitely not."

Fitz turned to her, a slightly offended look on his face. "Seriously? Four no's?"

Before either of them could speak again [Simmons was starting to get quite red in the face] a female voice over the intercom said "We will taking off in exactly 2 minutes, so buckle up."

The science kids turned to Ward, the nervous smiles and flushed faces still apparent. "We better go down to the lab, unpack our last bits of equipment." Fitz said.

Ward gave them both a brief nod [the small smile had disappeared, replaced by his normal, serious expression] and then he turned around, opening the door to his room.

"See you later then." Simmons said as she and Fitz went down the stairs to the lab.

"Yeah. Later." Ward responded, in his normal, clipped tone. With that he closed the door to his room, threw his bag rather unceremoniously onto the floor, and threw himself on the bed, sighing. The room was small, not a lot of room to wiggle around in, but the sheets, blankets and pillows were soft and clean, and the place smelled fine, which was more than he could say about some places that he had been.

He sighed again. _Time to go to work_ he thought. _Hopefully their won't be any more surprises._

Unfortunately for Agent Ward, there would be many, many surprises in the months to come. One of them was only an hour and 10 minutes away in fact. And it would be one that, though he did not know it yet, would change the course of his life, for better or for worse.


	3. Chapter 4 : Part 1

_**Chapter 4: The Asset Part 1**_  
>About 30 minutes after take off, Ward heard a knock at his door.p

"Its open."

The door opened to reveal Agent Melinda May. Her expression was the same as it was before: Cold, Indifferent, and slightly suspicious. Ward wondered if she looked like that all the time. _Probably_. No person could do what she did and not come out changed. 

Clearing her throat, May said "Coulson wants to brief us in the command room along with the science kids. Now." With that she turned around and closed the door without another word.

Ward sighed, and got up from his bed. Opening the door, he started to follow Agent May, who was a little ahead of him, until they came into a small room dominated by a large Wireless screen, and a large conference table. Coulson and the science kids were already in there. 

Coulson looked up as Ward entered the Command Room. "Ah, Ward." Nodding towards Fitz and Simmons, he said "You have become acquainted with Fitz-Simmons i see." Both the science kids gave Ward small, nervous smiles. 

Nodding, Ward said "We got a hit on one of the Rising Tide people Sir?" 

Coulson nodded in response. "The person who took the video on the ground? Whoever he-" at this, Simmons gave a very audible cough, while May raised her eyebrows ever so slightly, the first change in her expression all day. " or she" Coulson amended " is, the phone they used to record the incident had the same signature as that of one of the Rising tide members posting online. Goes by the username Skye21. Whoever this person is, they've been on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar for a little while. A person using the same phone recently hacked into the S.H.I.E.L.D database, released some information we preferred had stayed in house. Before that, that same person had hacked the NSA Database. Unfortunately for the hacker, we can use that same signature to track them to their location"

Ward shook his head, amazed and slightly weary. Whoever they were dealing with here wasn't some amateur kid playing hacker; This Skye, whoever he or she was, knew what they were doing. _You don't hack the S.H.I.E.L.D and NSA Database without some serious skill_. "Why haven't we taken this Skye person in before now Sir?" 

"Fury i think, until now, wanted to avoid us bringing whoever this Skye person in, and whoever it is going to tell the media about "S.H.I.E.L.D Brutality" and "Violation of Constitutional Rights". S.H.I.E.L.D is under enough scrutiny as is. After New York, people started asking questions we weren't able to answer." 

Ward nodded again, and said "But now this guy, this... superhero, is out in the open, he wants us to bring this Skye person in so they can lead us to him" Ward had to keep the sarcasm out of his voice when he said "Superhero". _Heroes aren't self-righteous bastards in spandex like Captain America, or some bored billionaire like Stark; where were these 'heroes' when i needed them? When my brother need_ _them?_ .To Ward, their was only one hero to him. John Garrett. The Man who saved him.

Coulson nodded. "When we get to New York, Ward, you and me are going to find this Skye person. May, you take Fitz and Simmons to the site of the explosion, see if you can find anything useful." 

May nodded. Both Fitz and Simmons started to talk excitedly to each other, saying something about using the "Dwarves". Ward wasn't sure what exactly they were talking about. It was probably something science y. May didn't seem to be very impressed. She gave the two scientists a look, like their chatter was hurting her ears.

Coulson cleared his throat, to get the scientist's attention. When he did, he said "When we land in New York, we'll be met by Agents from the Brooklyn Office. They'll provide transport for us. After me and Ward have this hacker, we'll contact you, and if you guys are done, we'll meet up back here at the bus, and will go from there. May, how long before we reach New York?"

May checked her watch. "About 10 minutes."

\Good. Fitz and Simmons, go into the lab and get any equipment you need when your on the ground in New York." Both of them nodded to him before turning around and going back down the staircase to the science lab, resuming their excited chat. "May, i want you to get back in the pilots seat and keep your comms open in case either HQ or Brooklyn try and get in contact with us."

As May moved off towards the cockpit, Coulson turned to Ward. "Ward, when were on the ground, and when we go to pick up the hacker, i want you to maintain professional conduct while on mission." At Wards quizzical expression, he said "I read the reports on the Paris and Sarajevo ops." Ward stiffened immediately. _Of course_." I know that your not the biggest fan of the Rising Tide. Believe me, i understand completely. But i want this Skye, whoever it is, brought in by the book, cleanly, without incident. Regardless of any personal feelings on your part. Understood?"

Ward nodded. "Sir im a professional. I don't let any personal feelings or attachments interfere with me while on mission. I go in, i get the job done. 

Coulson nodded, giving Ward a small smile as well. "Good. Glad to hear it. Your dismissed. Pack a pistol and some mags, you'll find them in the labs compartments. I highly doubt we'll need them, but i'd rather we be safe rather then sorry." 

Nodding again, Ward said "Yes sir." before turning around and walking in the direction of the lab./p

Coulson sighed. Thinking about possibly trying to catch some shut eye before they landed at JFK [He had not been sleeping very well of late] his plans were abruptly put on hold when his cell phone went off. Looking down at the caller ID, he smiled and pressed the accept button. 

"Hey John"

"Hi Phil. Just thought i'd call in, see how the kid's doing so far."

Phil smiled. He knew how much Ward meant to Garret. When Ward had graduated from S.H.I.E.L.D Ops academy [with honors] and was immediately placed on his first assignment [Not the most glorious of missions, just a standard recon op in Nigeria, but still pretty impressive for a rookie] Garrett couldn't stop bragging about Ward for over a week. He didn't stop talking about him, even when he and Coulson were stuck in a firefight with a couple of Maggia Hitman in Madrid [It was meant to be just a simple information swap, but Garrett, whose big mouth was legendary at S.H.I.E.L.D, had offended the tradition heavy Maggia by flirting with their leader, Madame Masque] Garret was pretty close with most of the agents he had trained and led, but Ward was different. He was like a son to Garrett. That much was obvious.

Still smiling, Coulson said "Not too bad. He's met the whole team, and that didn't go too baldly." 

"Even you-know-who?"

Chuckling, Coulson replied "Yeah, he met May. She was actually sorta friendly, i mean for her. She didn't completely ignore him or try and punch him anyway." Both Garret and Coulson chuckled as they fondly remembered incidents where other Agents had not been so lucky. "I think your protege may just develop a crush on her. His eyes didn't leave her at all until she returned to the cockpit." 

Chuckling, Garrett replied "Well, i always said the kid had good taste." For a second, Garrett was silent, before saying " So, you think he'll fit in with you guys?"

Coulson sighed again. _Honestly? I'm not sure_. "Hopefully he will John, but you know how hard it is. To go from being a specialist, working almost exclusively with other specialists, into a team like this. Its hard."

Though Coulson couldn't see him, he was sure he was nodding in agreement, wherever he was. "I know. Other then at S.H.I.E.L.D Academy, and... before" He didn't need to elaborate. They both knew Ward history. "the kid never really interacted with other people. For most of his S.H.I.E.L.D Life he's only ever worked with other specialists, like him. Other then me and Trip, he's not really close with a lot of people. And ever since he left the academy, all he's ever done is mission after mission, non-stop. Practically no social life, no close personal attachments out of work. Kids got a great work ethic, don't get me wrong, but his people skills..."The rest was unsaid. 

Coulson nodded, sadly. He knew why Ward was like he was. Why it was hard for him to trust people, to get close to them, to let them in. It was horrible, what he had had to endure, and so young too. And the job Ward did, didn't exactly leave much room for healthy interpersonal relationships either: Either he worked with people who were trained to be perfect liars, like him, or with people who would kill him on a moments notice if he made a single mistake or slip up with his cover. Not ideal, by any means.

Hoping to lighten the mood, Coulson said, in a warm tone "You know what Maria gave him for his peoples skill mark?"

"What?" Garret replied, a chuckle building in his voice. 

"A piece of crap with knifes sticking out of it." They both laughed. "She swears its porcupine, but still..."

Garrett, who was still laughing, said "Hey, your not exactly one to talk Phil. You weren't exactly what one would call 'friendly' and 'approachable' when you were the kids age."

Coulson scoffed. "I'm not the one who punched his first supervising officer in the face John." He could hear Garrett groan. "One mistake, and i get it thrown in my face every damn time-" 

"One mistake?" Coulson interrupted, incredulous. "What about that arms dealer in Jakarta? Or the informant in Rio? Or, oh god, the Shaman in New Delhi-"

"Okay okay smart ass, you made your point." His tone was slightly gruffer, but there was still warmth in his voice. 

Coulson snorted, before saying "Besides i grew out of it, eventually." Answering the unspoken question, Coulson added "And im sure Ward will too." 

Garret was silent for a moment, before saying "Your right. He'll be fine." Then he said, in a teasing tone "As i recall a certain specialist had something to do with you growing out of it? What was her name..."

Coulson, who seemed to have become very uncomfortable, said "Hey John, i gotta go. Were landing soon and i cant have-"/p

"Your phone on? On a S.H.I.E.L.D Mobile Command Center?" Chuckling, Garret said "Your not fooling me Phil. But i have to go now anyway. Me, Trip and Dan are meeting with a possible gifted in a few minutes in the Kapalıçarşı [Turkish:Grand Bazaar]."

Phil smiled, thankful he wasn't part of that op. He had dealt with 'Gifted' individuals before. The ones who weren't fakes usually tried to kill him. "Okay. And John... don't worry about the kid. He'll be fine." 

"I know he will Phil. He's in good hands." 

Coulson nodded. _Lets hope there good enough_. "Selamünaleyküm my friend."

"Aleykümselam my friend." With that, the line went dead.

Sighing, Coulson checked the time on his phone. If it was right, and if May was as precise as her word [which she virtually always was] they would be landing in about 2 minutes. Sighing, knowing rest was probably a long way off, Coulson decided to go down into the lab, to make sure the science kids and Ward were ready.


	4. Chapter 4 Part 2

_**Chapter 4: The Asset Part 2**_

After landing at a covert S.H.I.E.L.D Airfield, near La Guardia, and meeting with two Agents from the Brooklyn Office, the team split into two groups, Ward and Coulson going with senior agent specialist Greg Fisher driving, Level 5, while May and the science twins went with Agent Mickey Bradley, Level 4. Ward and Coulson would try and track the mysterious hacker, "Skye", while the others would be at the site of the explosion, to find anything that they could use, any evidence.

The program showed the location of the hackers signal to be in Brooklyn. Fisher drove them to the location in silence. Ward had worked with Fisher before, on an Op in Beirut. He was cordial, if slightly reserved. A lot like Ward himself. Their was neither friendship nor enmity between them; They were just work colleagues.

Upon finally arriving at the location that the signal was showing [which turned out to be a a small Van parked along a side alley next to a small Cafe] Fisher parked on the street just opposite. Ward made to get out of the Car, before Coulson put his hand on Wards arm gently for a brief second before saying "Remember, Quick and Clean" before taking it off just as quickly. Ward gave a small nod before opening the car door, Coulson just behind him as he walked across the street to the alley, with Fisher staying in the car, keeping the motor running as they [if everything went according to plan, which in all three Agents experiences, almost was never the case].

When they finally reached the door of the van, Ward keeping his hand inside his goat, on his pistol just in case he needed it [Ward knew for a fact that some of these Rising Tide fanatics could be dangerous when confronted] Turning to Coulson, who gave him a nod, Ward placed his hand on the door handle, expecting that it would be locked [and surprised when it wasn't] he pulled it open, to reveal quite an unexpected scene before him.

"Nothing, nothing can stop us in the -"

The Hacker [if this person was indeed the hacker and not just an associate] was pretty much the opposite of what Ward was expecting: For one, the hacker was female: Ward didn't want to sound like a macho douche bag, but during his brief but memorable [for all the wrong reasons] dealings with the hacker group Rising Tide, the majority of their people he had dealt with were men.

And two, and more importantly, this girl was gorgeous: No, she wasn't just gorgeous: She was beautiful.

Ward had been with his fair share of women in his life [not to mention the occasional guy] All of them were beautiful, or at the very least pretty or handsome. Most, if not all those relationships had been as part of his job: Either they were targets, whom he had to seduce; or they were the people whom he could use to get to his target. Only one or two of his relationships had been outside of work: One was when he was still just a teenager, before Garret found him; the other had fallen apart because she couldn't stand that Ward was so devoted to his work [or, to be more specific, to Garret and HYDRA]. With most of his lovers, though they had been beautiful, that beauty was, at least partly, artificial: A by product of good makeup and some plastic surgery: But this girl [Ward guessed she was probably in her early to mid 20's, her build was lean but not very firm, like Fitz-Simmons, and she part Asian, he copper skin and large eyes, along with her brown hair giving it away.] who was dressed in an unassuming purple shirt [along with a small jacket and old, tattered jeans], which gave merely the smallest amount of cleavage for any a wondering eye [not that Ward was looking of course] her beauty was not due to make up, or to some surgeons scalpel; Her eyes were a warm, comforting shade of brown, open, but slightly mischievous as well; As if she could switch between Helpful and Disruptive at a moments notice. Her skin was healthy looking, obviously spending a fair amount of time out in the sun [Ward suspected she may have lived somewhere back west, possibly California], her hair, though a little messy, looked quite pretty, and her face, which showed no signs of the botox that many people, both male and female, showed,had not been trifled with; Her eyes, her nose, her lips; all seemed to have been grafted to some sort of geometric law, to emphasis her beauty in every way.

In short, she was, to quote the layman, "smoking hot". And when she turned to them away from her computer [for which she had been recording some type of Rising Tide manifesto most likely] giving the two senior agents [who were in their formal work suits. People tend to respect a person in a suit, especially serious ones like Ward and Coulson] a falsely cheery smile on her face, along with an even more false "Hey. What up?" even that had sounded cute to Ward.

Ward, the consummate professional, ignored all these thoughts in his head of course [or tried his best at least] and instead, without so much as a word, pulled out the small cloth bag from his coat pocket and placed it over the startled girls head, before firmly [albeit gently; Ward was nothing if not gentleman] pulling her out of the van and half dragging, half guiding her towards the car; Coulson following behind.

Before they had reached the car [the girl, Skye, muttering something about "Civil Rights" and "Men-in-Black doucebag", both of which Ward and Coulson had ignored.] a loud, slightly nasally voice yelled "Hey, what the hell do you jokers think your doing?" Ward and Coulson turned around to see a slightly portly NYPD Officer, with graying hair and a wrinkled, suspicious face, moving towards them, his hand on his holster, moving towards them.

Coulson turned around, giving the Cop his best smile, and said "No need to be worried Police Officer. Me and my colleague are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and we are taking a suspect in for questioning."

The cop, though he didn't take his hand off his holster, relaxed slightly, before saying "S.H.I.E.L.D huh?" For a moment he was silent, before saying, in an aggressive tone "As in the same S.H.I.E.L.D which almost nuked this city? The same guys who tried to cover up that Thor guy popping up in New Mexico after he almost blew up a small town? That S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Coulson's smile faded off his face, replaced by a look of apprehension. _He wasn't kidding when he said S.H.I.E.L.D was under more scrutiny_ Ward thought.

Coulson said, in a polite [yet, Ward also noticed, with the smallest amount of menace] "Sergeant, were not here to pick a fight. Were here to take a suspect in for questioning. We don't want any trouble-"

The cop gave them a dirty look in return, and said "Well, that's all fine and good, Agent of SHIELD. But you see, a fed in a suit like you may not know this since your so far above the rest of us Blue Collar guys, but you cant just take someone in without good cause and a warrant; so unless you got some paper in that nice little suit of yours, im going to have to take you and your friend in here into custody for attempted kidnapping."

Coulson couldn't stop the small look of panic that crossed his face. _We don't have time for this_ he thought irritably. Putting his hand up, he used his free one to reach into his pocket for his S.H.I.E.L.D Badge, saying in a calm voice "Officer, there is no need for this to get-"

Faster then anyone could have expected, the cop [whose name tag labeled him as officer S. Lee] pulled out his service revolver and pointed it at Coulson. Although the cop was shaking so much that Ward suspected he had never pulled out his gun on any one before, the look in the mans face was determined. "Pull your hand out of your goat slow and easy." Evidently, he seemed to believe that Coulson had been reaching for his sidearm.

Coulson did as he was ordered. "Good. Now you and your friend turn around slowly and put your hands on your head. And no funny business."

Ward wanted to take a swing at the cop and get this over with. Even with the advantage of a gun, Ward was confident he could take him down easily. The guy was no spring chicken: He seemed to be in his late 50s, possibly early 60s, was not very fit [making Ward suspect that the stereotype that Cops ate donuts all the time might just be true] and was, despite his bravado, seemed afraid of him and Coulson. He was shaking much more then from just frayed nerves. However, Coulson gave him a pointed look as he turned around and lay his hands on his head. Ward sighed and copied his motion.

The Cop came up behind them, the gun pointed at Ward, whom he seemed to have pegged as the bigger threat of the two. "I lost some good friends during the Battle. The battle you SHIELD Bastards started. And guys like us, the average Joe, payed for it."

Coulson, without turning his head, said, in a surprisingly cold voice "You weren't the only ones to lose something that day Officer Lee."

The cop ignored him, and instead pulled out two handcuffs. He then said, in a smug voice "Now im gonna take you boys down to the precinct, and you can have a nice chat with some of our detectives. I'm sure they'll be real interested in what you have to-" the cop had shifted his attention to Coulson for a millisecond, allowing Ward to swing around quickly, knock the pistol out of his hand, while his other hand hit Officer Lee square on the chin; The cop, who would've hit the concrete, hard, if Ward hadn't caught him by the wrist, was knocked out. Ward then lay him on the ground softly. He wont be getting up any time soon Ward thought, slightly smug.

Coulson turned to Ward, putting his arms down. Ward was surprised by the look on his face; Instead of gratitude, he seemed almost... disappointed. "Agent Ward, was that really necessary?"

Ward looked at him, incredulous. "Sir?"

Skye, who had remained quite throughout this entire scene, said, in a slightly panicky voice "Ah, i don't want to ruin the moment, but please tell me you didn't kill that cop." Her voice slightly muffled by the bag on her head.

Coulson continued to give Ward a piercing stare. Ward finally said "Sir, i pulled back the punch. He'll be fine."

Coulson sighed. "That isn't the point Grant."

"What exactly is the point Agent Coulson?" Ward said, now a little irked, especially by how he had called him "Grant", like they were friends.

Coulson merely sighed again, before pulling out his phone. "Put the girl in the car. Tell Fisher to get ready to move out. I need to make a call."

Ward nodded [still annoyed by Coulsons disappointment at his actions. What should have i done? Let him take us in. We would have just wasted time he thought angrily.] Grabbing Skye [the prisoner he thought irritably to himself. She's just the prisoner.] he took her to the car, opening the back door and shoving her in, perhaps a little too roughly then he should have. She grunted, and said, "Why your such a gentleman, Agent Douche-bag". Ward merely grunted in response as he took the front passenger next to Fisher.

After about 20 seconds, Coulson entered the car in the backseat, sitting beside the prisoner. "I called the ambulance. They'll come by and pick up the Police Officer ." Ward just nodded, unconcerned. Fisher, who it turns out had been completely oblivious to all the recent dramas [he had been listening to some music on his I pod] started the car and began the drive back to the Bus. Coulson pulled out his phone while Skye [The prisoner Ward thought to himself again, irritated. Just the prisoner] started to speak "Look, i don't know what you guys want, but this isn't legal. You cant just just kidnap people in the middle of the street for no reason."

"For one, you were in your van, not in the middle of the street." Ward snapped. Coulsons seeming disappointment [which of course he did not care about. Not even a little.] in what he had done had stressed his patience engough for the day. "Secondly, why don't you just be quiet for the time being and not make your situation worse."

Though he couldn't see her expression through the bag, he was sure she was rolling his tongue at him. Very mature he thought. Coulson, who had completely both of them, took his phone out again, and dialed a number. "Hey, we've finished up on our end. What about you guys?" A few moments later, he nodded. "Okay good. Meet you back at home base."

The rest of the trip went off in complete silence. When they finally reached the air strip, Ward, Coulson and Fisher got out, the prisoner in tow.

Turning to Fisher, Coulson said "Agent Fisher, could you please keep an eye on the prisoner? I need to talk to Agent Ward alone for a minute." Fisher nodded, grabbing the prisoner by the arm [she had been handcuffed using one of the Cops own cuffs after she had tried to punch Fisher in the face.] and taking her away, out of earshot of Coulson and Ward.

Coulson turned to Ward, the look of disappointment on his face. Ward suppressed an eye roll. Great, a lecture.

Taking a breath, Coulson said "Mind telling me why you did what you did Agent Ward?"

Ward wanted to say something snide and cocky in response, but he knew all it would likely get him would be a reprimand. Instead he said "Sir i did what specialists do. I solved the problem .We are on a timetable here, and that Cop would have wasted our time. Time we cant afford to waste. So i did what i had to do."

Ward thought it was a perfectly good excuse. Instead, Coulson said " You don't think you could have been a little less aggressive Ward?"

Ward rolled his eyes. "Sir, you know i didn't really hurt him. All i did was put to sleep for a little while."

Coulson shook his head. "If you hadn't pulled back properly Ward, you could have seriously hurt him. He was just an old man, doing his job. Like you." Ward looked away. He shouldn't care what this guy, this old undead agent thought about him or his performance; But for some reason he did; For some reason, Coulsons disappointment almost felt like Garrets. Coulsons face softened slightly. "You cant solve all your problems with violence Ward."

"Its worked so far for me, hasn't it?" Ward finally snapped. He was angry. _What right does this self righteous bastard have to judge me? What the hell does he know?_ He waited for the reprimand for his smart mouth.

Instead, Coulson said something completely unexpected "Your right. It has. But your not just a specialist anymore Ward. You have to learn the value of taking the unconventional approach to the mission, because i can tell you right now, the missions you'll be doing, will be out of your debt Ward. You'll deal with things none of us were ever trained for. Thats why Fury asked me to form this team; You, me, may and Fitz-Simmons are going to be the ones who keep people safe from the monsters at their door. Safe from this new world, this scary new world that we live in now. A world of gods and monsters, aliens and all that other weird crap out there. And for that to work, i cant have you punching your way through every problem we come across. Understood?"

Ward remained silent for couple of moments before nodding.

Coulson smiled. "Good." He then turned, but before walking off he said "And Ward, i read your file. Your history." He turned to Ward, and Ward was surprised by the look of pity in his eyes. "You went through hell that no child should ever have to endure at your age. I know that's why its difficult for you to deal with people. And... i know its hard for you to believe, but i do know what you have had to go through son. What its like. And if you ever need someone to talk to, my door is always open. Okay?" Ward nodded again. "Good. Now come on, lets go interrogate the prisoner."

As Ward followed the senior agent, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about those words he had said. "If you ever need someone to talk to" Why would he care? No one had ever cared. At least no one except Garrett. Sure, they all said "oh you poor thing" and offered their condolences, their grief. But it wasn't sincere. All they ever did was talk, about moving on, and getting on with your life. But how can you, when half your life has been hell? None of them understood anything.

But Coulson, he didn't sound like the others. He sounded like he did care. And that he did know what he faced. And he did want to help. But why would he? What was his motive for helping out someone he didn't know at all? Was it pity?

Ward didn't know. And he decided for his own peace of mind, that he would merely push aside those thoughts, and get on with he job at hand. He didn't have the time nor the inclination to think about what went through Coulsons head. He was a specialist. He got the job done. And now the job was to interrogate this hacker, this Skye girl. And that's what he was going to do.

**_Sorry for anyone whose reading, this chapter aint finished but hopefully it will be by tomorrow._**

After saying a good thank you and goodbye to Agent Fisher, and then taking Skye's laptop [which Coulson had picked up when Ward had entered the car with Skye] and giving it to the newly arrived secondary team, Fitz had apologized profusely and admitted he was unable to break the encryption on the computer, saying "I'm sorry, but this bloody thing has some type of program on it which will automatically delete any info on it if we try and break through by force. Without the proper code, were dead in the water." Coulson nodded, not surprised. Neither was Ward. The Rising Tide had become extremely adept at hiding information from the government using Programs like the one Skye was using [A fact Ward found ironic, considering the groups self professed goal of free information]. After telling Fitz and Simmons not to worry it and just focus on finding any clues from the blast site, and after Coulson ordered May to stay on Comms again in case any information about the mysterious vigilante came on, he and Ward took a hold of one of Skye's arms each and half dragged , half guided her to the special interrogation room inside the Bus. After opening the door, Ward [perhaps a little rougher then he should have] dumped Skye onto one of the chairs. Coulson took the chair opposite her, while Ward decided to stand. Ward pulled the bag off Skye's, who in turn gave him a look of deep loathing and said "You guys are making a big mistake."

"You don't look that big." Ward quipped, unable to help himself. The girl was tiny; especially compared to him.

Before Skye could field a retort, Coulson said "Sorry for the lack of finesse. Agent Ward here has had a little history with your group The Rising Tide."

Skye gave them a blank stare in return, and said "I don't know what you're-"

Ward, still a little peeved off from the lecture he received from Coulson before, and having gone through the whole 'I don't know what your talking about' routine' with dozens of suspects before, lost his patience and said, in a menacing tone "Okay, there are two ways we can do this."

Skye gave him a an expression of mixed loathing and amusement, and replied "Is one of them the easy way?"

"No."

Skye's expression changed from amusement to concern. "Oh." Ward knew he wasn't gonna be torturing this girl; One, torture wasn't his style. Hurting someone and taking a certain amount of pleasure in it was not something that Ward was capable of, for personal reasons, and that was a prerequisite when using Torture as a tool. Two, he knew Coulson wouldn't allow torture as an interrogation method; Only a very few Agents [Garret among them] were comfortable with using it as a tool in the field. However, Skye didn't know that. And the threat of violence, even just the implication of violence [something Ward knew all too well] was an effective tool in itself.

Coulson cleared his throat before saying "What's your name?"

"Skye."

"What's your real name?" Ward added. Coulson put his hand up before saying:

"That can wait. It's another name we need: A certain hero."

Although she tried to stop it, a brief look of understanding passed through Skye's face before she re-arranged it once more into a blank stare. _Bingo_ Ward thought triumphantly. "What makes you think I know that?"

"Well, you made a little mistake. The phone you filmed the hooded hero with had the same cryptographic signature as a few of The Rising Tide posts." Coulson explained, a small amount of smugness in his tone as he said it.

Skye, for the first time, looked a little impressed. "Wow."

"Yeah." Coulson said, nodding.

"Was that a mistake? Or am I now sitting In the center of your secret headquarters? What is this? A plane?" Now it was Ward and Coulsons turn to be impressed. The girl seemed to have a better sense of her surroundings then they anticipated. Despite the bag on her head, she seemed to have figured out where she was pretty quickly. _Smart Girl_ Ward thought, albeit begrudgingly. Ward couldn't figure this girl out. He prided himself on his ability to read people, know their intentions. But so far, with this Skye girl? He couldn't get a read on her at all. And that was unnerving for him.

"And by now, you've discovered you can't beat the encryption on my equipment, so you got nothing." Now it was Skye's turn to look smug. She knew she had them.

Coulson covered the look of surprise that suddenly came over him at having been beaten [at least for now] and instead replaced it with a look of lack of concern. Ward couldn't help but be impressed by just how easily the senior agent was able to maintain his confidence in a situation sliding dangerously in the other sides favor. "We have a fairly strong coincidence: You being on the scene Right before it went up in flames. My Team went over there while we were picking you up. Want to clue me in on what they might've found?" Seeing that Skye wasn't about to provide his answer, Coulson changed tact and instead asked "How did you know the hooded man was in the building?"

Ward, impatient with how slow the interrogation was going [although he was opposed to Torture, he had no problem with other people employing it to get answers quickly] and now annoyed by how this Skye girl seemed to think she had them by the short ones [and even more annoyed by the fact that she unfortunately did seem to have them by the short ones] threw caution to the wind and asked "Did you blow it up to draw him out?"

"Did you?" she retorted, angrily. Ward was starting to really dislike this girl. Her smart mouth, her lack of cooperation, and the fact she was a member of the Rising tide was really starting to get on his nerves.

"That's not our style." Coulson replied.

"I was just kidnapped by your "style"." Skye rebounded, pointing at Ward for emphasis. Before Ward could field a witty retort of his own [all the while trying to avoid being distracted by how even the little light in the interrogation room made Skye's hair look almost Golden] she continued "S.H.I.E.L.D. covered up New Mexico, Project Pegasus. Of course you'd be covering up Centipede."

Ward, who was now getting increasingly unnerved by how much this girl knew [Only level 6 and above agents in S.H.I.E.L.D should know about Project Pegasus, let alone what had happened to it] gave Coulson a slightly confused look, mouthing _'Centipede?'. _Coulson gave him a look just as confused in return. _Thats not good_ Ward thought. _Level Eights know practically everything about S.H.I.E.L.D. If he doesn't know about this Centipede thing_... Ward didn't let himself finish that thought.

Skye noticed this little silent exchange between them. A small smile appeared on her face. "Holy Crap. No way. You don't know what that is. Billions of dollars of equipment at your disposal, and I beat you with a laptop that I won in a bet?" Now she looked _really_ smug. Ward resisted the urge to snap at her. _This is so not how this interrogation should be going_ he thought to himself angrily. Most of them, the suspects he had interrogated, would be crying their guts out with them about now, not bragging, and _certainty_ not being smug.

Coulson, seeing that Ward's patience, or what little of it that remained, was at boiling point with the interrogation going as it was [which Coulson had to admit was now little more then a series of mind games with the surprisingly feisty and intelligent hacker sitting across from him.] decided to take an alternative route to his questioning. Despite the girls fiery attitude, Coulson was good at reading people. Not like Ward, who only looked for the lies or deception that people were hiding. Coulson was able to see the good in people. It was one of his best qualities as a S.H.I.E.L.D Agent: It was that self same quality which allowed him to look past the sordid past of the Black Widow and convince Nick Fury to agree to Clint Barton's recommendation that she be recruited instead of being eliminated. He could tell that this girl had a good heart, despite her attempts to hide it behind her sarcasm and snark .

"You need to think about your 're not the only ones interested in people with powers. We'd like to contain him, yeah." Coulson knew it was better to be honest with Skye then try and lie to her; She was smart. She would the lie immediately and all he would achieve would be her clamping her mouth shut even tighter then it was. "The next guy will want to exploit him, and the guy after that will want to dissect him." Coulson could see that Skye was now thinking over her words. Gotcha.

Then Ward, who had now lost all patience, said, in an angry tone "What is Centipede?" banging his hands on the table separating Coulson and Skye in the process.

Coulson sighed. Ward had evidently tried to intimidate Skye. He could tell immediately that Ward's little outburst had not achieved its aim; Instead of being shocked or intimidated, Skye gave Ward a bored look, and said to Coulson in an irreverent tone "So what is this? He the bad cop, and your the good cop?"

Coulson, who decided they needed to take a small break from this 'interrogation' before it evolved into Juvenile name calling between the two kids, cleared his throat and said "Agent Ward, can i speak to you outside for a moment?" Ward, without changing the look of intense dislike now on his face as he faced Skye, turned to the door, and opened IT, letting Coulson go through first before following him out. Coulson turned to him, and. closing the door behind Ward, said "Agent Ward, you need to stay focused while in that interrogation. I know that the girl is attractive, and that she has a smart mouth on her, but i cant have you losing your cool in there."

Ward gave Coulson an angry look in response. "Sir that girl is just yanking our chain. She's unreasonable, uncooperative and-" Then Ward gave the senior agent a confused look, and said "Wait, what do you mean, she's attractive? And how is that have any bearing on me in the first place?"

Coulson actually chuckled. "Come on Ward, i have eyes. You haven't taken yours off that girl ever since we took the bag off her head."

Ward suddenly became quite hot under the collar. Blushing quite profusely, he stammered "That... thats not... i mean... thats completely, uh..."

Coulson chuckled again. _Boys will be boys_. No matter how much a specialist Grant Ward was, even he could suddenly start to act like a nervous schoolboy around a girl he so obviously had a crush on. Of course, he would never admit it. Still smiling, Coulson said, cutting off Ward's now intelligible babble "Look, we can worry about you having a crush on the suspect later. Right now, lets get back to this interrogation and finish it up, okay?" Ward nodded, still quite red in the face. "And Ward, that little outburst of yours? All it did was remind her that she is in control, and we aren't." Ward nodded again, his Blushing subsiding slightly at the thought of Skye's smug, though pretty [_Whoa, don't finish that sentence Grant_ he chided himself.].

Coulson smoothed the crease in his suit, and said "Okay, i'll go in now. Once you've composed yourself, come in after me."

Ward was about to argue that he was composed just fine, when he saw his reflection in one of the nearby mirrors pinned to the wall. His face... _How can it be so red_? he thought, slightly alarmed. He just nodded to Coulson, who opened the door into the room and closed it behind him.

Sighing, he put his face into his hands. _Get it together you idiot_ he chided himself again. _Stop acting like some pubescent kid. Your Grant Ward. Your a Specialist. You've done jumps into hostile territory with missiles firing at you. You've insulted Russian Mafia bosses to their face and come out of it with nothing, not even a scratch. You can do this._

That was what Grant Ward told himself as he walked back into the interrogation room, his face now back to its normal color, all the while ignoring the voice in his head telling him to notice Skye's hair, he eyes, her lips, the small bit of cleavage showing on her... _Focus Grant. You can do this._

Skye, who seemed to have become considerably more cooperative, said, just as Ward walked in "Centipede. It was chatter on the web and then gone. I traced the access-point mac address to that building."

"What were you after?" Ward asked, thankful his voice was still perfectly normal, even though his heart was seemed to be beating a hundred times a second in his chest. _I haven't been like this since freshmen year in high school and i to wanted to ask Anna Chalmers to the school dance!_. On the list of painful childhood memories, that ranked pretty low. Still, very painful.

"The truth." Skye replied. "What are you after?"

"World peace. You pseudo-anarchist hacker types love to stir things up." _Thats it Ward_ he thought. He knew just the way to get his mind off Skye: He would argue with her! _Brilliant! "_But you're never around for the fallout. People keep secrets for a reason, Skye."

Skye got up from her chair. "Well, just because you're reasonable and-" She poked Ward in the chest. Ward had to, honestly and shamefully, resist the urge to swoon [of course, he would never admit it under pain of torture and death] "Firm" Ward didn't miss how she seemed just a little impressed by how firm he was, and then he hated himself slightly for how that made him feel just a little good. To be perfectly honest, a _lot_ good. "Doesn't mean that you're not an evil, faceless Government tool bag."

Ward sighed. The girl was cute sure. But infuriating, and annoying for good measure too. "Just give us your guy's name." he demanded, his tone not very angry, but to his own annoyance, sounded almost pleading.

"He's not my guy!"

"You understand he's in danger." Coulson added.

"Then let me go. Let me talk to him. Me, not the T-1000 here." she argued, pointing at Ward.

Ward, ignoring the jab at him being a Robot, said "You want to be alone with him. Of course." Turing to face Coulson, he said "She's a groupie. All this hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D. ,tracking powers. She might as well be one of those sweaty cosplay girls Crowding around Stark tower."

Now Ward noticed, with some satisfaction, that it was now Skye's turn to go red.

"What?! I would never... It was one time."


End file.
